There are sociocultural and socioeconomic causes of Adolescents/teenage pregnancy. These causes include; gender discrimination based on historic unequal gender roles (for instance child bearing is seen as women’s major roles in rural areas, hence girls are not educated in such settings), discrimination against reproductive rights for adolescents (this includes absence of Adolescents friendly health facilities in developing countries), ignorance due to lack of Adolescents sexual and reproductive health education, poor parental supervision, broken homes/single parenting, lack of family affection, poor academic performance, peer pressure/bad company, poverty, child marriage and sexual abuse (rape/defilement).
To help mitigate some of these causes, parents should start sex education with their children early even before they attain puberty. Parents should be actively involved and be interested in the daily activities of their children by having frequent discussions with them on the causes and consequences of early sexual activities, and also to know their perceptions of sex and what they discuss with their peers/friends. In that way we can empower the young ones with knowledge and guide them to make informed decisions about their sexual life.
